From Rock'n'Roll to Creole Sept 17: Day 12 New Orleans : Tombs, Tours and Too much salt

[WileyCoyote]

Yesterday is Food, Cocktails, Spooky Stuff

Thursday 21 September

We were awake around 0530 and I was immediately onto our on line check in for tomorrow, managing to get a mighty 3 rows ahead of our last trip, lol, must pay for the priority boarding next time !

We had coffee and the leftover beignets ( bit chewy) while watching tv.

We grabbed another coffee from the lobby around 0800 and were in plenty of time for the meet for the tour at 0840.

The tour guide had an intermittent cough which gradually got worse the more she spoke and we spent part of the tour looking around the group wondering who was going to give her CPR if she keeled over.

She had lived in the French Quarter for most of her life and she was incredibly knowledgeable

We stopped quite a lot on the way to the cemetery as she pointed out the various styles of houses

The long carriageways and balconies were ways to avoid the stench of all the horse poop that would have been in the streets, the Creole and Shotgun style houses and she also pointed out that if you could see a house with a sloping roof at the back of another house, that would have been the slave quarters.

Slave quarter house at the rear

Shotgun and creole style houses

Double balcony houses

It was boiling hot by the time we arrived at the cemetery - you can only enter now if you are on an official tour and they seemed super strict on you sticking with the tour party. There is no shade here either so bottles of water definitely a good idea.

I had picked this tour to see the tomb of Marie Laveau, alleged Voodoo Queen of New Orleans. According to both tours we took, she was either a sassy business woman, incorrigible gossip or a practitioner of dark arts. Either way, she led an interesting life !

And then we looked at lots of tombs ...

This giant pyramid has been purchased and placed here ( allegedly) by none other than Nicolas Cage in readiness for his demise - the tour guide didn’t hold back in telling us what she thought of his contribution to the cemetery ( eep)

The tomb of Homer Plessy who made a Rosa Parks style stand against segregation in the 1800s.

More tombs .. Andy was well impressed at standing in the boiling sun looking at crumbly old cement with creepy dead people inside !

We then made a stop at the Basin Street Visitors centre which was interesting and a much needed sit down in the aircon with some cold water

The tour finished at Congo Square - or Armstrong Park as its latterly known. It was where the slaves, the majority of whom were from the Congo, would congregate and where they would play their music.

After tipping the tour guide and being thankful that she hadnt choked to death while taking us round , we walked down Peter Street to Jackson Square

[WileyCoyote]

It was gone 11 now and in a moment of heat induced famishment , stopped at the first cafe we came across.

NEVER DO THIS , it is almost always a disaster.

There was a limited menu, which was still breakfast.

I have never had a baguette sliced up as French toast before

Andy had an omelette with grits , it still looks like baby sick to me

It was very average for $30. Our server was very nice though

Upon visiting the restroom, I determined it was definitely a place that had you seen the bathroom first, you wouldn't have eaten there

And perhaps explains the numerous bathroom breaks the following day

We had a look round Jackson square

And then on to Decatur street - voodoo gator and gumbo file !

It was really busy along here and quite a few hustlers. We did buy a CD off a couple of young guys who were really funny and kept telling us that they would be winners of Americas got Talent or something like that . We thought they deserved a few dollars for their cheekiness !

The statue of the founder of New Orleans , Jean Bienville

We were super wilting with the heat and the amount of walking so headed back towards the hotel - managing to take a few wrong turns though and going in a complete circle - Bourbon Street has loads of roadworks which meant it was really narrow and packed out , we were both getting a bit hot and irritable by now

A quick stop for some fresh pralines was in order

We came across Antoines by accident and decided to stop in the Hermes bar for a drink. It’s a very posh place .

I had a Vieux carre, but much like the Sazerac it was too bitter for me.

We set off again for the hotel

Just loved this place so much

WE were disappointed to find that despite leaving the “ please make up the room” sign out, our room hadn’t been sorted ( we had gone out at 8 and it was now 2)

I wasn’t bothered about the bed or toiletries but we wanted some coffee for our early start the next day. The lady did offer to do our room there and then but I wonder why they bother with the door hanger signs if they don’t take any notice !

We had a lovely snooze and got up early evening to pack up the cases so we could make a quick get away

Andy had wanted a Seafood steam pot for dinner and we struggled to find places that offered it but the Royal Oyster House was one of the few places that did them - but when we enquired they were around $55 which felt a lot. But we had enjoyed being here yesterday so decided to stay

I think we had a bit of a crappy table though near the kitchen - everyone seemed to be bumping past us.

I had the Strawberry Vodka Lemonade

Nice menu

Andy went for crab claws to start

I had the spinach dip

Andy ordered some red wine and I tried the Bourbon Bubbles

I went for the Sausage , red beans and rice

It was nice but just far too salty for me and I ate hardly any of it - I had been thinking about the Scallop salad - it would have been a better choice. This was a nice dish, just over salted for my liking .

Andy had Shrimp and Jambalaya

At least I had room for dessert !

The Banana Foster Cheesecake

Goodness this was rich - the middle wedge is the cinnamon crunch base with the creamcheese either side.

And the bill $127 , with a $25 tip

It was good food, I was just so cross I made a duff choice for our last night !

We took a final wander around Bourbon Street

Before a final drink in the bar and early to bed - we have a taxi booked for 5 am so no late night tonight.

We are both quite sad o be leaving - it certainly is the Big Easy here - such a laid back place. We had totally fallen in love with it and could definitely have spent more time here

the next day arriving in Florida is here

As the rest of the trippy is Florida based, the last few days will be posted in that section but added to the index in the General Trippy.
Ta very much for reading this far

[CrispyA]

Busy day - cemetery tour sounds interesting. New Orleans is definitely on our list - is it more of a grown ups place though?

[WileyCoyote]

Originally Posted by CrispyA

Busy day - cemetery tour sounds interesting. New Orleans is definitely on our list - is it more of a grown ups place though?

See more...

Hi there

If we had the teens with us we would have done the Superdome, Mardi Gras World, a paddle steamer trip and probably gone on a plantation tour . There are loads of different walking tours so I think there is a lot for the non adults. But with the amount of bars , it definitely had a more grown ups feel ... And much more laid back than Memphis or Nashville. We didn't see many younglings at all in NO but we put that down to it being school time

[Melbatb]

The tour looks interesting - though that pyramid monstrosity is bizarre!

The grits look ... err awful! But I am a fussy eater

NO has never bern on my radar but you may have put it on my list

[i love jack]

Sounds a great day, New Orleans looks so pretty and interesting history.
Shame about your meal - it sounded good!

[WileyCoyote]

Originally Posted by Melbatb

The tour looks interesting - though that pyramid monstrosity is bizarre!

The grits look ... err awful! But I am a fussy eater

NO has never bern on my radar but you may have put it on my list

See more...

NO is great - with so much French and Spanish history, it really is such a fascinating place , its just so " different" ! LOL at that pyramid, it looks so out of place !

Originally Posted by i love jack

Sounds a great day, New Orleans looks so pretty and interesting history.
Shame about your meal - it sounded good!

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Oh I was so annoyed at myself with the meal - it was great food but way too salty. I should have just ordered the salad !

[Goldia]

It does look hot in the photos, I'm not surprised you were wilting after the tour. A fab final day in New Orleans though.

[Jesslydevie1]

Just been catching up on your trip , I am so in love with your pics of New Orleans , we are going in August with the kids youngest being 14 so any tips would be greatly appreciated, we are also doing Memphis and Nashville then 19nights in the smoky mountains so your report is invaluable to us .

[DisneyDreamer81]

Oh my word, that cheesecake looks incredible! Shame about your main course. When you're paying a decent amount of money for food I don't think there should be any such thing as a duff choice

A fab last day in NOLA though!